[yasr_overall_rating]
In 1848, two real-life warships, HMS Terror and HMS Erebus, sent on a Royal Naval expedition to find the treacherous Northwest Passage become trapped in ice near the Arctic and face starvation, mutiny, cannibalism and a demonic polar bear.
“The Terror” series is the adaptation of Dan Simmons excellent horror novel. The novel is loosely based on the true story of the two ships, HMS Terror, HMS Erebus, and their three Captains who disappeared on their quest to find the North West passage. The North West passage was deemed important to make a more accessible route for British trading and colonizing to and from the Pacific ocean.
The HMS Terror and Erebus are far advanced, being the first Royal Navy ships to be retrofitted with steam-powered engines and screw propellers. As one man states, commenting on the superior ships, it doesn’t matter in the Arctic, “In this place, technology still bends the knee to luck.”
There are three Captains in command with Captain Franklin (Ciaran Hinds) leading the expedition. Second in command is Captain Francis Crozier (Jared Harris) a hard-drinking realist, at times, prejudiced by his men for his Irish ancestry. Captain Fitzjames (Tobias Menzies) who’s narcissistic and blindly optimistic, never shying away from telling a story about his glory days in battle. The three men are layered and different, with Crozier questioning and inquiring more than the others. Erebus is stuck in the neverending ice and is abandoned by Captain Franklin, then the entire crew must take refuge on Crozier’s ship The Terror. While some remaining Erebus crew make the long trek with necessary supplies for The Terror, they stumble across massive animal tracks, far too large for a polar bear. These men realize they are not alone. One of the most compelling characters is an Eskimo named Lady Silence (Nive Nielsen). Their paths fatefully cross and she boards The Terror with Captain Crozier diplomatically keeping her safe. Lady Silence also knows how to hunt and survive better than any of the male-dominated crew.
The production stands up to most of the recent Hollywood epics. Although the filming took place on a massive soundstage in Hungary, at times I thought they were genuinely on location in some sub-zero terrain. The writing and editing are flawless, moving the story while creating organic character development. The tension rarely lets up but the series earns your scares and pays off. In a wonderfully eerie scene, the ship’s doctor performs an autopsy while a crew member scuba dives in an archaic brass helmet into the frigid Arctic waters, stumbling onto a frightening image. For all the dark, heart-wrenching moments, there’s gothic gorgeousness to be found in almost every scene. The melancholy music at times drones with lovely flourishes of Sigur Ros-like harmonies strewn in with cold beauty. I highly recommend this series and the original novel, shocking and magnificent.
Available on Blu-ray & DVD August 21st
